How to Make Remote Meetings Work for Your Home Business

Remote working has become the norm this year, and that seems set to continue for the foreseeable future. People are generally being encouraged to work from home wherever possible, and big employers setting down plans for a long-term switch. If you have a small business, the chances are that at least part of your work is operating online.

Working from home certainly has distinct advantages for employers and employees alike. It can increase productivity and operating costs, and people can spend more time with loved ones. However, collaborating with a group and discussing tasks and targets can be more challenging when you can’t get together in a meeting room.

If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner hoping to find success working from home, it’s really important that you have a clear idea of how to manage a remote team effectively. That involves making sure that online meetings go smoothly, foster friendly professional relationships, and make good use of everyone’s valuable time.

There are a few things to consider that will help make sure that remote meetings work for you.

Choosing the right platform

The first thing you need to figure out is which platform you are going to use for your virtual meetings. Skype has been a familiar favourite for many years, but this year Zoom has eclipsed it in popularity. Whatever platform you go with, you have to make sure that it’s appropriate to your needs.

Each platform has its own features that will suit different budgets and hosting requirements, so what’s right for a very large organization might not be right for your small business. You might also consider using an online meeting feature that is compatible with platforms you already use for email or document sharing.

Think about who you will need to host in a virtual meeting. If your small business tends to have one-to-one meetings with clients and freelancers, or small group meetings with your team, Slack and Google Hangouts are convenient ways to meet and collaborate online.

If you need to bring larger groups together for a meeting, Skype can host up to 50 people, and Zoom can take 100. Those are free options, which would work for many small businesses. After that, you’ll need to budget for a business plan with Microsoft or Google, to access a meeting capacity of up to 250 with Microsoft Teams or Google Meet.

Setting an effective agenda

It can be challenging to switch from face-to-face to on-screen meetings. When you’re in a virtual room it’s not as easy to pick up on non-verbal clues about how the meeting is progressing, and people can lose focus and disengage if things aren’t managed effectively.

The good news is, if you plan your meeting well, you can anticipate any issues that might arise, and an online meeting can actually run as smoothly and efficiently as if you were sitting round the meeting table together.

Before the meeting begins, make sure that you appoint someone to facilitate by making sure things keep flowing, on task, and on time. This person will introduce agenda items, encourage all attendees to participate, and mediate any discussions or debates. Your meeting will be much more effective with a facilitator keeping track of things.

Always start your meeting with a quick check-in with attendees. This will give people a change to update on any company news and prepare for the meeting ahead. Keep it brief, and then you can move on to reviewing and updating on any actions that were agreed upon in the previous meeting.

A key point on your agenda is to report on weekly targets. Whatever the nature of your business, you need to make sure everyone is clear about what tasks are underway, and how they are progressing. Share any relevant documents or files before the meeting begins, so that people have time to go over them in advance.

Your agenda should also devote some time to deal with any issues or challenges that come up. Use the IDS (identify, discuss, and solve) method to get input on any obstacles, and to collaborate on finding solutions.

Before your meeting ends, you need to follow up on key points that have been discussed, and what needs to be done before the next meeting. This is an important part of your agenda, as you need to recap any action points and delegate tasks, as necessary.

To help you make the most of remote meetings in your small business, BusinessFinancing.co.uk have gathered expert advice and put together this handy infographic guide.

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